


Freesia

by Vellichorina



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-06-18 02:44:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15475794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vellichorina/pseuds/Vellichorina
Summary: Sand and water. One cannot exist without the other. Like waves crashing down on coarse earth, their lives came tumbling down. Thrown into the riptide of life, Suna and Chena, born in opposite lands and opposite lives, met in the middle of Ba Sing Se. A useless thief and a tired noblewoman stripped of her riches find that they aren't so different after all. With the world against them, Suna and Chena discover that theres more to life than what they thought.





	1. Sand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [a rock obama](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=a+rock+obama).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freedom. A desire. A feeling. But to Suna, it was nothing but a distant memory.

_"Thick as thieves."_ Everyone knew the saying. It meant bonds forged with time, togetherness, _family_ even. It was a shame that Suna knew nothing of such things. 

 _Suna._ A daughter of the sand, born into a life of lies and thievery. The earliest memories she could recall were that of false smiles and broken trusts. Her parents seldom showered her with any affection, and when they had, it was so she could once more be used in one of their tricks. Even at a young age she had figured out that manipulation was key to success in her little tribe of bandits. A small little girl, surely meant no harm to unsuspecting travelers as her parents;or whoever decided to trail along, would quickly take the traveler's belongings as they conversed to the "lost" girl. A trinket that could be traded here and there, water, food, rare animals even, her tribesmen were not above thievery in order to survive. 

       Sighing from exhaustion, Suna found herself slipping away from the makeshift tents set up by her tribesmen and near a particularly high sand dune. Her upbringing was like any other born into the tribe, yet she still saw herself an outsider. Suna, in lack of better words, was a _terrible_ thief, terribly ironic considering where she'd been born into. Of course they'd tried training her. Teaching her all their techniques and whatnot, but the girl could never seem to bring herself to go through with their plans, whether it be a bit of pick-pocketing or full on raids. So, she'd been put on the sidelines, occasionally helping the younger girls scavenge for the cadavers of animals that continued their eternal slumber in the sands or used as a primary distraction once again. Setting herself into the soft sand, Suna finally felt at ease for once in the long day. Even if she was essentially useless to the tribe, a leech, a _parasite,_ she still found her own talents. For one, her sandbending wasn't all too bad. She could defend herself if need be and occasionally she'd even be allowed to use a sand-sailer to navigate through the barren land . The way the wind rushed through her hair, the way the sunlight glimmered and bounced off of her goggles It was one of the only times she could ever escape the world. Nobody could hurt her,  _use her, remind her of her weakness,_ she could be free. Even if it was only for a little while. 

       Flipping through the pages of her latest little book, Suna smiled in satisfaction as she peered over at the replica of one of its chapters on a separate sheet of paper. The book, or more specifically, the journal she held had once belonged to someone who seemingly enjoyed documenting their experiences of the world around them. Detailed descriptions of areas from the Western Air Temples to the never ending waters of the Water Tribes. Yet still, the notebook was not immune to everything as its words had slowly began to fade as age and nature took their toll on the inky pages, though in site of the challenges time presented, Suna had been enchanted with the words as well as the process of replication. Forgery wasn't too hard for the sandbender and often times she'd even notice herself replicating documents well enough to the point where even she couldn't tell the difference between the original and the twin. Her latest work—the journal were among one of the few freedoms she had besides sand-sailing. Books were scarce to find in the Si Wong Desert and the rumored library of "infinite knowledge" was probably nothing than was it was said to be.  _A baseless rumor._

       "Heh, maybe I should just run away. Be free from whatever this dump has for me anyways.” expressed Suna to nobody in particular. Her days in the tribe had made her quite accustomed to speaking her thoughts out loud, as nobody really listened to the girl. Of course, she knew she had to learn to filter her mouth eventually, but certainly now was not the time.

       The thought had crossed her mind multiple times, but in the end, it was impossible anyways. Her fate was simple, she'd live as one of the bandits til the end of her days, never seeing the rest of whatever secrets that may rest beyond the desert's borders in exchange for her life in the tribes. If she ran away she would have to take a sand-sailer and the likeliness of any of the bandits just  _giving one to **her**_ of all people was even more unlikely. The only remaining and logical decision was to stay with the tribe and simply just resign to herself to her inevitable fate as her resolve would wane and diminish away. As the girl hid behind the sand dune she heard how alive her sandbender tribe's camp was. Conversations were echoing from the camp. 

"Get out of that pot Daniel!" A mother screamed.

"Over there!"

"It's three copper pieces for one"

"All I'm saying is that I think I'm the better bender." 

       All these little overheard snippets of conversation displayed life in the tribe. The tribe that she had grown up in. "I can never leave this place, I'm too attached", she thought. Suddenly, Suna was snapped out of her trance.

   "SUNA! I know you're hiding somewhere, you stupid kid!" A voice echoed out, booming even, throughout the air. It was likely one of her parents, although at this point Suna was far too busy attempting to disassociate and ignore the noise rather than listen. "Listen, lazy girl, we're about to move! Make yourself useful and come down or we'll leave you behind!" 

        Eventually however, the shouting grew far too loud for even her to handle and soon enough, Suna felt herself getting to her feet and collecting her things. Thoroughly irritated, she glared in the direction of the sand-sailers. Another perfectly horrible day began as the sun looked down almost angrily with its intense slaps of heat at the bandits below it.  _How absolutely lovely._

 


	2. Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freedom. A privilege law granted. A word engraved within her tribe's blood. Chena relished the thought of it. Yet here she lived both free and chained to tradition.

       The water bender watched carefully as the healer's olden hands trailed across the clay mannequin. Glowing water filled the doll's chi paths before concentrating on one spot. The old woman's hands enclosed around the doll's arm for a few seconds, before letting go and ceasing the light blue glow. Amazed, the young girl looked down at her own clay mannequin and tried to replicate what she had seen her elder do. The healer chuckled as she watched the little girl fail to bend a small bubble towards the mannequin. She placed her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Chena, darling. You'll get it eventually. You're only ten years old. I'm sure that you'll become an excellent healer in time." She said.

The girl turned around and hugged the woman. "Thank you"

From the doorway of the healing hut, a man's voice emitted. "Your boat is here, Miss Chena."

"Goodbye Grandma!" Chena waved.

The old woman waved as she watched the short water bender run outside to her boat.

 Once Chena was settled in the wooden boat, the man asked, "Where to Miss Chena? Home?"

      The girl placed her finger on her chin. There were so many places in the Northern Water Tribe that she could go to. The market? No, she'd just been there last week. The ice park? Mother would definitely be opposed to that. A few minutes of thinking commenced, before she finally decided.

"Can we go to the library?" She asked with a smile.

"As you wish."

* * *

"Miss Chena?"

 The girl looked up from her book. "Yes?"

"Your father requests your presence in the sitting room." the servant said.

"Of course"

      Chena arose from her rocking chair and placed her book back on a bookshelf. She stood back and admired her large collection of books. It had been six years since she had first visited the Northern Water Tribe Library and sparked her love of reading. Every day after healing class she would stop by the library to read before dinner. When her parents found out about her not-so-secret rendezvous to such a place, they insisted on buying their daughter her own library in the safety of their own home. Of course, this led to many restrictions on her reading material, but Chena didn't mind. As long as she could be transported into a world that wasn't as restricted as her own. Not this. Not that. Never those. Her whole life was sheltered. 

"Excuse me, Miss Chena?" the servant spoke.

She broke out of her trance. "Oh, right." 

     She followed the servant out of her room, fixing her clothes to look proper. Chena's mother had always told her, ' _You must be presentable at all times so you can become a good bride. Be quiet and respectful or nobody will love you'_ Being a good bride had been drilled into her head ever since she was thirteen. Her mother even went to lengths such as paying for etiquette classes. When Chena finished smoothing out her coat the servant stopped in front of a door, bowing and opening the door for the girl. The strong warmth of the fireplace engulfed the girl as she entered. A young man around was sitting on an arm chair next to Chena's parents. Conversation halted when he noticed the young woman enter.

"Chena, we've been waiting for you." Chena's father pointed to a furry armchair. "Come sit."

As the girl sat down, she asked, "Why did you call me?"

"Well, Chena, as you know, you've just turned sixteen a few months ago. And as tradition says, you're of marriageable age." Her mother said, taking a sip of tea. 

       She knew where this was going. And she didn’t like it. 

"You're father and I have decided that it's time for you to become betrothed."

      The girl blinked. Of course. It had been nearly three months since her sixteenth birthday, why didn't she expect this sooner? Northern Water Tribe tradition was forced into her head. how could she have forgotten about betrothal? Chena had always been very compliant when it came to tradition. This is all tradition, she thought. 

"Of course." She said. "It's an honor to follow such customs."

Chena's father pointed to the young man "This is Kaskae, a soldier in the army. He's a very talented waterbender and comes from a decent family. He'll keep you safe." 

      The young girl looked at the man sitting across from her and gave a polite nod, "He seems very honorable. I’m very glad that you’ve chosen a great suitor for me. Is that all you had to tell me?"

"We've scheduled a get together for you both. Tomorrow, while your father and I are at the council meeting."

"I you don't mind, I'd like to speak with Chena privately. I think I'd be best if I introduced myself to my own wife." the man butted in.

        The adults looked at each other, as if mentally consulting the other. "We'll leave you to to it." Chena's father said, as he and his wife exited the sitting room. 

      The absence of her parents had made Chena study the man. [DESC OF FRESH PUBERTY FACIAL **FEATHRES** , LOOK LIKE **TEEN** BUT STILL MAN]

       Kaskae stood up and walked toward the girl in the arm chair. He offered his hand to the girl, who took it reluctantly. Slowly, the pair walked toward the sitting room’s balcony. A rush of cold air greeted the two the moment they had reached the  frosted balcony. Dancing along the balcony and the waters below, small bits of snow swirled along the night sky. brushing across Chena's rosy cheeks. Tilting her head slightly, Chena snatched glimpses of her fiance as his movements mirrored the river below. Sluggish, yet elegant, she noted how he seemed to unconsciously pace around with the small waves, a dreamy expression on his face as he seemed to ponder what to say. The silver of moonlight showered him in a soft golden hue as it bounced and diminished here and there with each step he took. In a sky freckled with stars and the milky white of the moon, an audience of two stood together as they contemplated their words to the whispering hymn of the breeze. 

      The freezing cold air of the balcony contrasted the warmth of the sitting room, stinging Chena’s cheeks. She leaned against the icy balcony with a deep breath. Silently thanking her parents from shielding her from the Northern Water Tribe’s harsh weather, the waterbender rubbed her hands together. 

“You should put on your hood. You look like you’re freezing. ” Kaskae said, lifting the girl’s furry hood onto her head. 

     I wouldn’t be freezing if you hadn’t forced me to come out here, she thought. The girl continued looking over the balcony. She observed the countless ice creations around her. Houses, sculptures, even the sidewalks were made out of ice. A river connected each ice building together, acting as a sidewalk for boats. As the river glistened in the moonlight,Chena noticed the young soldier next to her slowly started to bend a small bubble of water away from the body of water, freezing it into an ice pearl. The girl rolled the sphere around in her gloved hands, her body heat melting the sphere in the process.

       The young man next to her smiled, bending the water out of her gloves. “How about I introduce myself to you? I’m Kaskae, eighteen years old and a very great soldier. I like to say that I’m future chief material. What about you?”

”Future chief material? I’m not so sure about that” Chena smiled, feeling the tension release. 

”Not about me being chief! Introduce yourself to me!”

Chena started,”Well, my name is Chena. But you already knew that. My parents are both council members, and you knew that too. I’m sorry. I’m horrible at introducing myself. Usually my parents always did it fo-“

      Kaskae grabbed Chena’s shoulders, locking eyes. The girl’s heart started racing. She’s never been in an intimate situation before, this would’ve been the first time that she was even alone with a boy, let alone this close to one to one. 

“Stop apologizing for everything. It’s not your fault.” The young man’s grip on her shoulders loosened. “Look, I know this betrothal thing is all so sudden. But I don’t want anything to be awkward between us. Okay?”

      She nodded in reply. Chena rubbed her nose, which was almost numb from the cold. Suddenly, Kaskae leaned down, giving her nose a quick kiss. 

“Well, it’s getting cold. I should go inside.” Chena stuttered. “Good night, I’ll tell the servants to fix you a boat home. Uh, bye.” 

    Just like that, Chena dashed back inside the sitting room and ran into the long hallway. A servant was standing by the door. “Um, Kaskae. Boat. Home.” was all she managed to spit out before she sprinted to her room.

    She slammed the door closed, forgetting all her mother’s rules of being a good bride and breathed heavily. _What. Just. Happened._


End file.
